Just the facts about blue light and the eye
There are a ton of rumours and allegations about blue light out there and many of them sound scary, especially in the way they’re presented. So before you purchase glasses from us or anyone else we thought it would be a good idea to talk about what we really know about blue light and the eye.
What we know
One of the big challenges is that blue light is everywhere now. It comes from our devices, of course, but also from LED lights and flourescent bulbs. We know without doubt that blue light interrupts our circadian rhythm, the pattern that wakes us up and puts us to sleep also called our internal clock, by interfering with melatonin production. Melatonin is that neat stuff that makes us sleepy and some people take to help themselves sleep. That’s why you always hear that you shouldn’t use your phone, tablet, computer or other electronic devices before bed.
But we do anyway. Just me?
Nah, we all do. It’s one of the last things we look at before bed and one of the first things we look at when we get up! That’s not great for sleeping and so reducing our exposure to blue light helps. We can achieve this multiple ways. One is abstinence, as noted above. Just avoid screens before bed (hah)! If that’s not going to happen, there are multiple apps and settings on almost all devices now that allow you to filter out or reduce the amount of blue light being emitted. If all of those options aren’t for you or you spend your evenings surrounded by LED or flourescent lights, blue filtering glasses can definitely help.
What we sometimes think we know
Eyestrain is a tricky thing. For many people eyestrain isn’t just an indication that they’re on their computer too much, it can be an indication that the eye muscles aren’t working together properly or that the eye is having trouble focusing. If you’re getting eyestrain and it’s been a long time since your last eye exam, that would be a smart place to start.
For some folks, myself included, blue light filtering glasses just help my eyes feel more relaxed on screens. This is a personal thing though and not everyone has that experience. When we have patients in our clinic, we demonstrate a blue light filtering lens to them to make sure it’s beneficial. It doesn’t make a difference for everyone.
There have been studies done that show that blue light filtering glasses do NOT make a difference when it comes to eyestrain. Others show it helps. At this point the data really isn’t solid enough to say for certain and so we tend to go by what makes a difference for you.
What we don’t know yet
As of this time we have absolutely no idea if blue light negatively impacts the health of the eyes. I’ve read and heard about multiple claims that blue light increases the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts (and maybe you have too) but right now there’s simply no evidence that this is true.
So why are people saying that?
Well, we know that UV light does increase the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. UV is a high energy light that we mostly get from the sun. Blue light is a slightly lower energy light but there is an unanswered question about whether or not daily exposure to blue light over extended periods can impact us the same as UV light. At this point we simply don’t know.
So what should I do?
I’ll tell you the same thing I tell all of my patients. If you feel like blue light is impacting your sleep or if you find the blue light filtering lenses make your eyes feel relaxed on screens, then by all means get a pair.
If you’re only reason for getting blue light filtering lenses is because you’re worried about cataract or macular degeneration, I’d say the choice is yours. Is it possible that blue light increases the risk of those diseases? Yes. Is it likely? I can’t answer that yet. Will it cause disease? We just don’t know. There ARE things you can do right now to reduce your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration that have solid evidence behind them.
Wear good quality sunglasses without scratches even on cloudy days.
Get regular exercise.
Eat a diet rich in a variety of vegetables and fruits.
Avoid smoke and second hand smoke.
Do your best to avoid diabetes and if you have diabetes keep your blood sugars tightly controlled.
